- By order of Mayor Amaia del Campo (PNV), the Municipal Police of Barakaldo has evicted the plenary that approved the budgets for 2020, in protest of the increase in the salaries of councillors and advisers. At the same meeting in which this increase was approved, the Social Work budget was reduced.
On Tuesday, the Mayor of Barakaldo, Amaia del Campo, ordered the eviction of the plenary that approved the budgets for 2020 in response to a protest against the 4.2% increase in the Councillors’ salary base, amounting to EUR 2.5 million. A 17.5 per cent reduction in the Social Work budget has also been approved, as reported by the Berri-Otxoak platform in a note.
The members of the platform have carried posters against social cuts and chanted slogans like "not bread for so many chorizo" or "instead of charity, social justice". The mayor has ordered the plenary to be held behind closed doors, so it cannot be held.
"From the Berri-Otxoak platform we express our utmost indignation at the budgets approved by the PNV and the PSE, which represent a drastic cut in the Social Work and an unacceptable increase in the salaries of the mayor and the councillors," said a spokesman for the group, who called for "an immediate correction of these budgets of shame".
The Social Action area will have €9.81 million, compared to the previous 11.9 million municipal accounts. In addition, according to Berri-Otxoak, the 2% cut applied last year to emergency benefits is fixed, social aid is frozen at EUR 960,000, "which is always exhausted three months before the end of the year".
"The PNV-PSE has decided to include two million euro scissors in the budget of the Social Work. Two million euros are removed, while more than 15% of Barakalassal families are in social exclusion", warned the Berri-Otxoak association. The platform considers this to be a "serious scandal," as it "coincides with the discarded decision to raise the mayor's salary to the mayor's office."
"The budgets indicate that the expenditure will be increased by 3,689,19 euros for the remuneration of the municipal head. Every year EUR 92.184.21 is paid," they denounced. According to Berri-Otxoak, "the wage hike also applies to the other councillors, advisers and trusted officials of the government team" and "the total amount allocated to councillors and political advisers exceeds EUR 2.5 million".
In this context, the platform has called for "a drastic reduction in wage costs for far-flung politicians and projects", while it has called for "an increase in the social budget".